


Rabbits Are Not What They Seem

by F1_rabbit



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Rabbits, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-08-28 12:28:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8445841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/F1_rabbit/pseuds/F1_rabbit
Summary: Jo's been under a lot of stress at work, but his two pet rabbits make everything better.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [writtenfripperies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/writtenfripperies/gifts).



Jo was sitting watching tv, comfy on his sofa as he sipped at his cup of tea. And then he noticed that there were two pairs of eyes staring at him from the other side of the sofa, waiting to be fed.

"Okay, I'll get you food."

He hit pause on the tv, and smiled as his two little balls of fluff headed for the kitchen with him, sitting nicely by the fridge as he got them out green, leafy carrot tops.

"Is that good?"

He wasn't sure why he spoke to his two rabbits, Frank and Hazel, but he lived alone, and they were the closest thing that he had to company for most of the day.

Frank was a crazy one, always climbing and exploring, although thankfully he hadn't worked out how to open the fridge yet. Jo loved how his lop ears bounced when he ran, and his thick fuzzy white and fawn coat meant that Jo was constantly vacuuming just to keep the place tidy.

Hazel was much sleeker, her brown speckled fur made her look like a wild rabbit, and she was quieter, but every bit as mischievous as her fuzzy boyfriend.

They were wary around new people, but they trusted Jo, and that made him feel special. Just knowing that they liked having him around made him feel like he had a purpose, even if it was just to give the rabbits their kibbles.

Jo curled up on the sofa, the blanket draped over him as he drifted off to sleep, and he had the strangest of dreams.

He woke up with Frank licking his face, his whiskers tickling at his skin as he cleaned him. The dream faded from his mind, as most dreams did, and he went about his day, heading off to work as the rabbits settled down for their post-kibble nap.

His day was their night, and he wandered out into the fresh morning air, the clear blue sky at odds with the frost on the ground.

***

Jo had felt like something wasn't quite right lately, but he put it out of his mind. Work had been hectic, and with the weather changing there were lots of people off sick. It was just the extra work that he had to do playing on his mind.

He got home to see his two balls of fluff waiting for him, and he crouched down so that both of them could bump noses with his hand, a rabbit greeting, although he was sure that it was just their way of checking to see if he had any food.

Heading for the fridge, he thought that he saw someone lurking by the bedroom door, but when he looked round, he saw that it was just his jacket slung over the top of the door.

"I need a good night's sleep."

The rabbits bobbed their heads, and Jo took that as a sign of agreement, even though they were just waiting for him to feed them.

He found out the last of the carrot tops, before taking out the celery, chopping it up so that they could have the tasty leaves from the middle.

While he was waiting for the kettle to boil he changed their water, and they rushed over in the hope that it was more food, but they were disappointed. They were munching away as he heated up some leftover lasagne, and he felt his body relax.

It had been a long day.

That night he made sure not to sleep on the sofa, and he smiled to himself when he heard tiny paws making their way closer to him, followed by the wobble of the bed as two rabbits jumped up to sleep beside him.

*

He woke the next morning in a state of panic, but when he tried to remember why his dream faded from his consciousness.

Hazel and Frank were both moving, stretching and yawning as the sun thought about coming up for the day.

He shook his head, stretching and yawning as he headed towards the shower, and he saw that the wooden frame for the bed was looking increasingly chewed.

That was probably what disturbed his sleep. The sound of a rabbit gnawing at wood wasn't quiet, although all attempts to find suitable toys usually just led to them playing with the box that they came in.

He looked at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, the bags under his eyes were starting to show, and even though he was only twenty-five, he felt his age catching up with him.

*

A cup of coffee had seen him feeling more human, and he was heading towards his office when a man came charging down the street, knocking people out of the way as he sprinted past.

Jo tried to get out of the way, but there were too many people around him, and the man slammed into him, splashing his coffee everywhere as he carried on running.

Wide eyes and pale skin, cheeks flushed from running, that was all Jo saw of the man. He was expecting to have to dodge whoever was following him, but there was nothing.

Jo wanted to put it down to a commuter just running late for work, but there was something about the man's eyes that said otherwise. He was clearly afraid, but what was he scared of?

He carried on down the street but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was a pet shop with puppies barking, but he could sympathise with that, although the rabbits underneath looked unbothered by the noise. Jo felt sorry for them all.

By the time Jo got to work he was late, and he was glad that he kept a spare shirt in his locker, the only thing that would have made this day worse would be having to sit in his coffee-stained clothes.

The rest of his day disappeared in a blur, nothing but accounts that needed to be settled and timesheets that had to be verified before the pay cheques went out at the end of the month.

That night he was glad to see his two balls of fluff waiting for him, and they both chinned his hand when he ducked down to say hi, which made everything better with the world.

*

Jo made sure that he got an early night, he'd been feeling exhausted lately, and he was sure that the stress of work and the ever-increasing amount of coffee that he required to get through it all were the main culprits.

At least he could have a lie-in tomorrow, a weekend off would do him a world of good.

It had been a strange week.

*

Jo was restless, his mind replaying the man running past him that morning.

He wished that he could stop the man, ask him what he was running from, but every time he just ran on past.

Something brushed against his cheek, and he turned round to see the man standing there. His green eyes had a fire burning behind them, and his hair was wild, it looked more like Hazel's fur than human hair.

"They won't let you leave. They have ways to stop you, they'll distract you, make you forget, and when that doesn't work… They'll find other ways."

The man leant in for a kiss and Jo woke with a jolt, disturbing the rabbits that were sleeping beside him.

Jo let out a deep breath, glancing around the room to check that he was alone. There was no sign of any intruders, human or otherwise, but that didn't stop Jo checking that the front door was locked when he walked past it.

He made himself a cup of tea, hoping that it would calm him, and he thought about reading, but he didn't want to give his overactive imagination any more inspiration.

The rabbits were standing behind him, and he went to get them a treat, even though he knew it was a bad idea at that time in the morning. They'd only want more at the same time tomorrow night.

Sitting on the sofa, watching the rabbits munch their hay cookies, he drifted off to sleep. His agitated mind kept flashing up images of the man, and he tried to reach out to him, but he could never quite catch him.

*

Jo woke up the next day with a pain in his neck from sleeping on the sofa, and a strange sense that something wasn't quite right with the world, but he couldn't put his finger on what was wrong.

The words from his dream echoed around his mind. "They won't let you leave."

Who were they? Why wouldn't they let him leave?

Jo shook his head, stumbling towards the shower in the hope that it would calm his mind, and ease the pain in his muscles.

The person staring back from the mirror looked tired, and he smiled at himself, hoping that his body would sense the good intentions.

He went about his usual routine, kibble the rabbits, make a cup of tea, change their water, sit and play games while trying to make sure that the rabbits didn't chew the cable for the controller.

But the words still echoed in his mind. "They won't let you leave."

It was simple, he was just going to leave, go out and get a walk, or a coffee, anything to prove to himself that he could leave, and hope that his mind would leave him alone.

He stood up, and the rabbits moved in, expecting food. Jo got them a few slices of carrot, which they devoured in no time at all.

His trainers weren't where he thought he'd left them, but he'd been so absent-minded lately that he wasn't surprised. He was looking under the bed when he found a box of old photos, all from his childhood, and he sat flicking through them, a smile on his face as he remembered all the happy times that he'd had with his friends and family.

He needed to pee, and when he stood up he saw that his trainers were sitting by the end of his bed. Why hadn't he seen them there before?

Shaking his head he made his way to the bathroom, the rabbits running over to see what he had, and he showed them his empty hands. When they were satisfied that he wasn't hiding any food from them he went to the toilet.

And then he remembered, he was going out.

But why was he going out? He was just having a quiet weekend at home, after the stress of the week.

The rabbits looked at each other as Jo sat down on the sofa, making himself comfy as he restarted his game.

*

Jo was hoping that after a relaxing day, he'd be able to sleep without dreaming, but the running man was back, and he kept trying to reach out to him.

He managed to grab his hand, and he went in for a passionate kiss, the two of them tumbling into bed even though they were standing in a busy street only moments ago.

The man straddled him, rolling a condom on as Jo ran his fingers over his lithe frame, deep groans falling from his lips as he sank down on to him. Jo wanted to wrap himself up in this moment forever, luxuriate in every detail, the way that the man's pouty lips were pink and moist, and the frantic love making, like he was desperate for his release.

Jo felt him clench around him, pushing him over the edge, and he cried out as he came, flopping down over him so that he could whisper, "Follow the rabbit."

He held the man close, curling up next to him, but he woke to see that he was snuggled up next to Hazel, her soft brown fur tickling at his nose.

"I had the strangest dream." Jo gave her a few strokes on the head, but she knew that it was kibble time, and he started to move. "I wonder what you guys dream of. Carrots probably."

The rabbits looked at him, their ears twitching as they listened to all the sounds that Jo couldn't hear.

"Dad would be proud, even when I have sex in my dreams I still use a condom." Jo snorted in laughter as he slid out of bed.

The rabbits looked at him with confusion, and he shook his head. He was going to have to find a way of balancing his work and his home life, before it all started to drive him insane.

Jo wondered if his mind was trying to tell him that he should find some human company, and he thought about signing up for a dating app, but it just wasn't him.

He was going to have to socialise more.

***

Monday morning rolled around, and Jo felt refreshed. He'd managed to get a whole night's sleep, without any crazy dreams interrupting him.

He was wandering down the street, wrapped up warm against the cool chill of the winter air, when he saw a familiar face.

Jo stopped, staring at the man as he tried to make sense of it all. The man walked up to him, his eyes staring into his soul as he grabbed at his scarf, dragging him down the street.

He couldn't tell if he was dreaming or not, and he followed the man to the park.

"Who are you?"

"Dany." His nose was twitching, and it reminded Jo of rabbits.

"Jo."

"What's going on?" Jo looked around, but there was no-one else in the park. Rabbits were munching away at the grass, frolicking around with their rabbit friends.

"We can't talk here, they're watching us." Dany twitched as he glanced over his shoulder.

Jo expected to see someone else, but there was still nothing.

"I live alone, we can talk there."

Dany nodded, and Jo led him to his flat, wondering what on earth was going on. The fact that he couldn't tell if he was awake or dreaming should have worried him, but he was rolling with it.

He hurried to get the door open, Dany still glancing around as though they could be attacked at any second, and Jo dragged him into the flat, stumbling through the door as the rabbits rushed up to greet them.

"They're here."

Jo looked around as he shut the door, but then he saw what Dany was pointing at – the rabbits.

"They're just pets, I can put them in their run."

"They're not just pets." Dany was cowering in the corner, his hands raised, shielding his face. "I've seen what they really look like."

Jo tried to reach out and comfort Dany, but the look of fear in his eyes was unmistakable. He wanted to reassure him, but there was something about his words that unleashed a hidden memory.

He slumped to the floor, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the rabbits.

"What are you?"

"We have been on Earth much longer than you, human." Hazel didn't move her mouth, but Jo had no doubt that the words were coming from her.

Jo shrieked, and Dany buried his head against his shoulder, trembling in his arms.

"Are… are you aliens?" Jo was sure that he'd gone insane, a rabbit was talking to him, and he was talking back.

"No, but we have evolved beyond the need for words, beyond these three dimensions that you are trapped in."

"But you're just rabbits."

"And you're just human, your simple mind is unable to comprehend the complexities of the universe like ours can."

"I don't understand." Jo held Dany tighter, but none of it made sense.

"Of course you don't. But we can't have others knowing the truth about us."

"Ar-" Jo couldn't get the words out, but he knew that he didn't have to.

"We're not going to kill you, we're not like humans." Hazel cleaned her face, as though the very suggestion that she was like humans made her feel dirty. "But you can't tell anyone about us, and in return, we will make sure that you have a nice life."

"A nice life?" Jo shook his head, he'd thought that his life was nice, by human standards, but he wasn't sure what rabbits thought of as nice.

Hazel flicked her paws, and two other rabbits appeared next to them. One was a black and white Dutch, her markings impeccable, and her white friend, with black and brown spots.

"Dandelion? Harvey?"

Jo looked down at Dany, his fear had made way to confusion. "You know those rabbits?"

"They're my rabbits." Dany looked around, and Jo saw that there were now bookshelves lining his walls, crammed with all shapes and sizes of books. "You moved all my things here?"

Dandelion hopped forwards, chinning Dany's foot. "There are human kibbles in the kitchen."

Jo stood up slowly, helping Dany to his feet before walking through to the kitchen. He was holding Dany's hand, needing to feel grounded when nothing else made sense. Jo wasn't sure what he expected to see, but the fridge was full, mostly of vegetables, and the cupboards were well-stocked.

Dany glanced at Jo, and he could tell that they were thinking the same thing. "Why would you do all this?"

The four rabbits stared at them with their unblinking eyes, their whiskers twitching as they all spoke in unison.

"We thought we'd get you a friend, to keep you company."

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this attempt](https://f1rabbit.tumblr.com/post/142923503166/unrarefripperies-f1rabbit) to merge the (rabbit) symbol from Skype and my icon...
> 
> *and obviously none of this actually happened, it is all a figment of my twisted imagination ;)


End file.
